Bittersweet Memories
by Forever Mesmerised
Summary: A series of lighthearted Ryou x Ichigo drabbles full of fluff and amusement and nothing more! The first 2 are really old, so don't judge me, as I have improved a lot recently! Anyway, enjoy, and review. XD
1. Almost Beautiful

_Yeah, I decided to repost this chapter, because I wanted to change the authors note. Basically, this chapter is like from..2 years or so ago, so don't judge me on the poor quality. I wrote this drabble and the next (Which I will also be reposting) a long time ago, before I came back to fanfiction, and so that is why they are both very badly written. The ones after these two are all recent-ish, so I have no excuse for my bad writing then :P_

_Anyway, enjoy and review!_

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**Drabble 1 - Almost Beautiful**

It was a still, beautiful day, as the blazing sun shined down upon the little pink café. The streets were smothered in orange light, and the water in the nearby river caught the light and shimmered, as it reflected the rays of light. All was still at the café, as the girls were still out fighting the aliens once again. The only people around were the cheerful brown-haired chef, Keiichiro, and a young blond, blue-eyed boy sat at his computer in the basement, desperately searching for something...

Just then, the door to the basement opened, and the room was suddenly flooded with bright light. Battered and bruised, a magenta messy-haired girl stepped in, head-to-toe dressed in pink, with little fuzzy cat ears sticking out of her head. "Ah, Strawberry, you're finally back. I was worried something had happened. Where are the others?" inquired Ryou, smirking as usual.

"They're all in the kitchen; tasting Keiichiro's new cake. I would have tried some myself, but I wanted to let you know we were back. It's got strawberry icing. My favourite!" she grinned enthusiastically.

"Okay whatever baka... go eat cake," he shooed her.

Ichigo turned to get to the door, but as she was doing so, she caught sight of her reflection in one of the computer screens.

"Eurrrgghhh!" she groaned, while trying desperately to fix her hair. "Grr, this stupid bit of hair won't budge!" she squealed.

Ryou stood there facing her, and watched the entire performance with a hint of amusement across his face. Ichigo turned her head, and saw Ryou smirking at her.

"Relax baka, you look fine." He grumbled, with a slight twinge of annoyance in his voice.

"No, I will not relax! I don't look fine, I look like an idiot, and I'm supposed to be seeing Masaya after this!" Ichigo wailed.

"No, you're right--you don't look fine," he smirked, knowing he got under her skin.

Ichigo scowled furiously at the blonde.

"You look… beautiful." Ryou reassured her.

There was a pause, as Ichigo took in what Ryou had just said. Shock overcame her.

"Almost..." he laughed and added on.

_Ahh! Shirogane! Trust him to spoil a moment like this!_ Thought a pretty annoyed Ichigo, as she retreated to walk out of the basement and back up the stairs…


	2. Clumsy Strawberry

_Again, this drabble is incredibly old guys, so don't judge, I've improved a lot._

_Read and review!_

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**Drabble 2 - Clumsy Strawberry**

"Oh my gosh! You'll never guess what! Masaya asked me out! We're going to go see a movie on Friday!" Ichigo Momomiya squealed as she burst through the pink café doors. A huge smile was plastered on her little face.

School had just ended, and as usual, she was late for work. Before any of the other four mews could answer, a voice bellowed. "Baka! You're late again Strawberry! I'm so gonna dock your pay!" Shirogane stepped out of the shadows with a smug look on his face.

_Aah! I'm not even gonna bother arguing!_

The redhead stomped off, scowling furiously, and cursing under her breath."Gosh, that Shirogane! Before I even set one foot into the café, or even greet the other mews, he starts threatening me! Stupid Shirogane! Grr, I'm going to calm down and try to ignore him!" she muttered angrily, talking to herself as usual.

She went to change, and then went to the kitchen to help wash up. The ditzy girl was washing the plates, when she felt a hand grip her shoulder tightly. Her blood ran cold.

"Boo!" shouted a voice in her ear.

Ichigo screamed and dropped the plate she had in her hand, which instantly smashed into little pieces.

"Haha Baka! You were so scared! You should have seen the look on your face!" Ryou was in fits of laughter.

Ichigo turned furious, and her cheeks flushed the same colour as her hair, while she grew more and more angry. She babbled on in non-understandable nonsense, while Ryou stood there smirking to himself.

"Ahh! Don't you dare stand there smiling, you…you—you jerk!" she shrieked.

Ichigo then proceeded to rush off in a strop, but she hadn't gone far, when she tripped up, being the clumsy redhead she was. Ichigo was about to hit the floor, when a pair of hands swooped under her body to prevent her from falling. She gazed up, and her hazel eyes met with Ryou's crystal blue ones.

"I got you, clumsy Strawberry," Ryou smiled…


	3. Strawberry Tart

Wow, hey guys! I can't believe it's been almost two years since I've properly updated. I'm so sorry, I've just been really busy, but I've been getting you request and will try my hardest to update quicker. I took a little break from writing, but I'm back now. Also, I am holding a competition, for more details, look on my profile. Anyway, this idea came from when I was eating hehe, so I hope you enjoy this as I really worked hard on it, and think it's my best yet. My writing style has changed a lot, but hopefully it was for the best. Anyway, I'll shut up now, enjoy! xo

Disclaimer: I don't and will unfortunately never own TMM, as if I did Masaya probably wouldn't exist and Ryou and Ichigo would be together, as would Pai and Lettuce (Which may mess up the dynamics of the show, but oh well) XD

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**Strawberry Tart**

Sunlight flooded the streets of Tokyo, and Ichigo Momomiya woke up to the melodic sounds of birds tweeting outside her bedroom window. She gave a long, well rested yawn and stumbled clumsily out of her bed. She walked over to her window and drew back the thin, gauzy curtains. Light shone in through the clear glass panes. The street outside was serene and peaceful, with nothing but a black cat lying on the wall, lazily basking in the glorious sunlight.

_Aahh what shall I do today?_

At that moment, Ichigo realised with a moan that she had work that day. She walked slowly away from the window to her bedside table, on which rested her cell phone. She flipped it open and her eyes widened as she saw what time it was.

_ Oh no, I can't believe I'm so late! Shirogane will kill me!_

Ichigo, in a blind panic brushed her teeth and threw on her work uniform. She fumbled around, trying to find her shoes, but just her luck, she could only find one.  
_  
Arghhh! Where have all my shoes gone today?_

Eventually, Ichigo found a different shoe, which was also missing the other one. _This'll have to do I guess..  
_She slipped a black pump onto her left foot, before fumbling with the strap of a completely different pink one. Ichigo then dragged a brush through her hair, giving up on untangling the strawberry coloured bird's nest. With one last look in the mirror, she sighed and ran down the stairs and out the front door.

She ran all the way to the cafe without stopping once to look at what was going on in the world around her. She almost ran into a little schoolgirl in her blind panic, and managed to mumble a quick sorry as she burst into the cafe doors, pulse racing, heart beating, and clearly out of breath.

A smooth, blond head turned just in time to see Ichigo collapse, less than gracefully, into a chair. Ryou Shirogane stood staring at the dishevelled redhead, with a slight amused look on his face. This amusement showed in his deep sapphire eyes which instantly met big hazel ones. Ichigo glanced at Ryou with a look of confusion on her face.

"What do you want Shirogane? I'm here aren't I? I know I'm late, but it doesn't look like I'm the only one not doing any work today. Where are the others?"

At this point, Ryou smirked, holding in a chuckle.

"You wanted to see me so badly that you ran over here despite me giving you all the day off today, as Keiichiro had to go visit a friend, Baka Strawberry?"

Anger exploded inside her, but before she could put it into words, Ryou chuckled and went on.

"Don't tell me you rushed over here for nothing. I thought I would have a nice day to myself with everyone gone, but you had to come ruin it."

Ichigo went as red as her hair. She was furious enough that her skin tone almost matched the unruly mess on her head.

"You jerk! I can't believe you! I thought I had to come in today, which is why I ran all the way here! You never told me I had the day off!"

"Well I told the others, not my fault you were too busy daydreaming to notice."

Ichigo's stomach rumbled. Ryou simply smirked again and replied.

"Come on, you're either hungry, which is why you're so crabby today, or it's that time of month again. I'm gonna take my chances and go with the first one. Keiichiro left food for me, I'll go get it."

Ryou got up and walked into the kitchen, feeling smug, and leaving Ichigo alone with her thoughts for a moment or two.

_How dare he just assume it's that time of the month again?! Stupid Shirogane, Masaya would never be so disrespectful!  
_With that thought, Ryou came back into the cafe, struggling to hold a tray of delicious looking food and a few plates.

"Come on Strawberry, it's a beautiful day out, let's take this stuff outside."  
"_Almost as beautiful as you, Baka..." _he added in his head.

Ichigo reluctantly obeyed, and carrying the food, followed Ryou out the door. They picked a nice spot on the grass, and Ryou laid down a blanket, which funnily enough had strawberries on it. They both sat down, quiet and facing each other. Ryou started putting some of the food onto plates, while Ichigo took a long moment to gaze at him.

_Wow, he looks so good in the sunlight...Oh ew! What am I thinking?!_

The platinum blonde thought similar thoughts to the girl sitting in front of him.  
_She looks so cute and innocent just sitting there. I want to tell her how amazing she looks but..._

Ichigo spoke, shattering, the more than awkward silence.  
"Ryou, why are you being so nice to me?"

Ryou, purposely avoiding the question replied with a question of his own.  
"Why are you wearing odd shoes Baka Strawberry?"

"Stupid Shirogane! I was in such a rush, I couldn't find anything else to wear, so it's your fault!"  
"Well how do you explain the bird's nest you call hair then?"  
_"The beautiful, unruly, bird's nest you call hair..." _he added silently.  
"Shut up Shirogane."

Ichigo glanced up as her eyes met Ryou's, which were now shimmering like aquamarine pools of water.  
_Wow, I could fall into those eyes...  
_Ryou, was also thinking the same, while returning her soft stare. At that moment, Ichigo's stomach rumbled again, even louder, completely ruining the moment. Ryou chuckled.  
"Strawberry, do you want tart?"

Ryou passed her the plate, and their hands brushed. Sparks shot up both their arms, and for a while, it felt like they were stuck in the moment. For them, it felt like an eternity, whereas in reality it was only a few brief moments. Something was ringing in the distance, but it seemed so far away as all they could see was each other, and all they could hear were their heartbeats. Slowly, they both leaned in till their noses were almost touching, and they could feel each other's heavy breathing.  
_Wait, is that my phone?_

Ichigo picked up as Ryou thought "_Trust her to completely ruin this precious moment. I may have been able to show her how I really felt about her..."_

She then hung up, and explained to Shirogane that it was Masaya, and he needed to talk.

"Thanks for the nice food, and for being so nice, and all of that stuff, it was nice..." Ichigo mumbled, not being able to produce much vocabulary besides nice. Both she and Ryou had been surprised by what had just happened, so for lack of a better word, Ryou, sighed, clearly agitated.  
"Whatever Baka, leave me alone now."

Ichigo stumbled away, thinking of what would have just happened if Masaya hadn't called, as Ryou did the same. Did she want it? Did she like Ryou? No it couldn't be! She turned her head to find Ryou still staring at her walking off. Ichigo quickly spun back round, blushing strawberry, while Ryou sat there, dazed and wishful, lost in his thoughts.

_If only. If only I could make her stay. I'll tell her one day, although that day could have been today. I've lost my mind, it will never happen, but...maybe one day it could. There will always be that one part of me that is still hoping that she returns my feelings. If only I knew for sure..._

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So what did you think? Like it? Prefer my writing style now? Comments, reviews and CC welcome, will update asap! This was slightly on the long side considering it's a drabble, but I just couldn't stop writing or figure out which out of 3 endings to pick. Hope you enjoyed it! Much love, Forever Mesmerised xoxo


	4. Second Command

Here were go guys, I tried to write this one quickly, and I think I succeeded seeing as it's only been a week, so I hope you like it, reviews please! I think I'm getting better at this drabble stuff, and I cut this one down to just under 800 words this time, which is good for a drabble considering it's me. So yeah XD

Disclaimer: I don't own TMM, if I did, Ryou and Ichigo would definitely have been together by now! XD Anyway, enjoy! :)

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**Drabble 4 -**** Second Command**

Ichigo Momomiya sat at one of the pink tables at Cafe Mew Mew, where she worked, holding a neatly produced invitation to a dance at her school.

_Ahh if only Masaya kun hadn't moved away... I don't have anyone to take me..._

Ryou Shirogane, her usually calm boss had just come downstairs, and saw his clumsy waitress sitting staring at some piece of paper in her hand. So he reacted like the jerk she _thought_ he was.

"Baka Strawberry! Stop sitting there leaving the others to do all the work, actually do something today or I will be docking your pay!"

The daydreaming redhead did not pay any attention to what her blonde jerk of a boss was saying.

_Hmm...Who could I ask? I really want to go, but I can't go alone. All of my friends have dates..._

Ichigo looked up to find herself gazing into the eyes of her platinum haired boss, who was just inches from her, waving a hand in front of her face, in a desperate attempt to get her attention.

"Wow, so you finally decided to stop living in Ichigo world and came floating on down to earth like the rest of us?"

"Shut up Shirogane."

"Why so cranky today Strawberry? You seem upset."

"It's nothing Shirogane, nothing you would care about anyway."

"Try me, I'll listen to your ranting if it means you'll get back to work quicker."

"Well...there's this dance...at school, and I really want to go but I don't have date." She stuttered, convinced he would just laugh at her and make her go back to work.

"Oh that dance? Mint was telling me about it earlier. If you want to go so much, I'll take you."

_Wow - I didn't expect that._

"You would really do that for me?"

"Yeah, why not Strawberry, we've danced together before remember, it shouldn't be too bad. But then again, it is a high school dance, so there will be annoying high school girls everywhere."

"All the more reason for you to come! All the other girls will be so jealous when they see me with someone as handsome, good looking and mature as you..." Ichigo suddenly stopped herself, realising what she had just said. _She had just called Ryou Shirogane handsome. To his face. Oh, nothing good could possibly come of this. He'd never let her live this one down!_

"Handsome and good looking Strawberry? Is that really what you think of me? I'm quite flattered you know." Ryou teased, adding a subtle wink and his signature smirk.

"I didn't mean it like that, you're just as mean as ever Shirogane! Maybe it would be best for you not to take me to the dance!"

"Stop overreacting Strawberry, it's called a joke. Ever heard of one of them before? And besides, I know you didn't mean it like that, everyone knows how good looking I am, so it's no surprise that you finally realised."

_Although I wish you did mean it like that..._

"Shut up, are you gonna take me to this dance or not Ryou kun? Uh- I mean Shirogane.." Ichigo stumbled through words.

"Okay I'll take you Strawberry if...you agree to do anything I say from now on."

"Why have you got to be so mean Shirogane? But fine, I will, because this is my last high school dance and I really want to be able to enjoy it, although with you around, I probably won't.

"If you want to go, then you better stop talking, that's my first command."

Ichigo sighed.

"Now kiss me." Ryou said simply.

"Nyaaa! What on earth Shirogane?" the girl before him dressed head to toe in pink furiously blushed a deep scarlet, to match her vibrant hair.

"I said do what I say. Kiss me Ichigo."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. _Could Shirogane really have feelings for her?_ At that exact moment Ichigo's ears and tail popped into sight.

"Ahhh, just the reaction I was looking for Baka!" Ryou smirked, walking back upstairs to his room.

Arghhhh that stupid Baka! Always looking for ways to irritate me, tease me, be mean to me! I'll teach him!

_If only she took me seriously enough to actually do it.. It would be so much easier showing her my feelings than putting them into words. But I guess this dance may be my chance to tell her. Let's just hope I don't screw this one up like I did last time..._

And with those last thoughts Ryou shut his bedroom door, and lay on the bed, thinking of a certain easily embarrassed redhead and the dance...

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_Not too sure about this one, as I wrote it in like 15/20 mins, since I said I'd update within a week, which explains why I'm up till 2 in the morning again! Anyway, let me know what you think please, hope you liked it. And do you guys think the next one should be about the dance, or should the dance be the one after the next. Or do you think the dance shouldn't be in this at all, as if it was it might be a little un-drabble-y, as drabbles aren't normally linked. But we'll see how it goes XD Much love, FM xoxo  
_


	5. Christmas Shopping Isn't Always Easy

Hey guys, I know it's been a while, but I was buried under school work for ages. I've done most of it now, so I had time to write. But not for long, I'm going to have a ton of assignments over winter break, so don't expect me to update too often!

Anyway, this drabble was supposed to be linked with the previous one, as in the last one, Ryou agreed to take Ichigo to the dance, and this one was going to explain what happened. But, due to my love for dragging things out longer than they need to be, this drabble would have been INCREDIBLY LONG if I had written about the dance. And eventually it wouldn't even be a drabble anymore, it would be a short story. So instead of scrapping the dance completely, which I'm sure I would get an awful lot of death glares from you guys for, I'm going to be writing a Christmas related twoshot, and the dance will take place in that. It will be up as soon as I've finished my giftfic, a few more drabbles, and a revised version of DOSC I've got going. Might take a while, but it will be up Christmas Day at the latest (fingers crossed) so I'm expecting a lot of reviews for it! XD

I apologise for the extremely long author's note which is probably longer than the actual drabble, but I had to clear some things up. This drabble is A LOT shorter than the others, so I apologise if that's not to your liking. Anyway, enjoy, and review! x

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Christmas Shopping Isn't Always Easy

_Hmm, Christmas is coming up. What should I get Ryou-kun? Wait, did I just call him Ryou? I mean Shirogane. Not that the Baka deserves a present, but since all the other Mews are getting him something, I don't want to be the only one that isn't. _

Ichigo Momomiya was daydreaming as usual, except this time while Christmas shopping. _Hmm, what to get, what would he like?_ She didn't know her boss very well at all.

She was walking round the men's section of a huge department store full of gift ideas, yet she couldn't figure out what would be the right present.

_Perfume? No, I'm not sure if he'd like that. Clothes? But what sort of clothes? He doesn't exactly dress fashionably, what, with those bra straps he always seem to have_... She giggled to herself and glanced around her, to notice that people were looking at her rather strangely. _Whoops, best keep my outbursts to myself._

After a while of browsing the different sections, and not finding anything for Ryou, she settled on a new toaster for Keiichiro, for the café kitchen, since she had accidentally broken the last one. She went to pay for it, and gave up on finding something for Ryou. She was just thankful she'd bought the other Mews gifts a while back, saving her the trouble now. She sighed. _I guess I'll have to ask the others what they got Shirogane and then come back._

She was in the queue to pay when she spotted it. The perfect present for Ryou Shirogane, there on a shelf right before her very eyes. Perfect in every way, shape and form.

A tie. A tie with lovely little red strawberries on it. Maybe this way he'd learn to keep his shirt on, and she wouldn't turn the colour of her hair around him.

But she couldn't help feeling flustered about how every time he saw that tie in his wardrobe, he'd be reminded of her. _Why am I so happy about that?_ Ichigo wondered, mentally smacking herself for having thoughts like that about Ryou Shirogane. _Oh I do hate him, I really do. I can't wait to see his face when I give it to him! _But we all knew that the reason she couldn't wait was not because she wanted to anger him, but she truly wanted to know if he liked it, and wanted him to have something that reminded him of her every morning when he went to get changed..

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Okay so here I am with yet another update, even when I got like hardly any reviews on my last one. Thankyou to the people who did review, but I've noticed there were an awful lot of lurkers, who read it but didn't leave a review. And by a lot, I mean A LOT, thanks to the stats page. So for this one, please review if you read it, cause I really wanna hear what you think. And I refuse to update till I get a lot more reviews, so you know what to do ;) Much love, FM xoxo


	6. Opposites Attract

**Whoa, talk about something writing itself! I wrote this in like 15 minutes, since I finally finished my Forum Secret Santa fic. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been so unbelieveably busy. **

**But yeah anyway, this was supposed to be all fluffy and lighthearted, and Christmas related, since its in 2 days, but my keyboard seemed to have a mind of it's own, and so here it is. The very first angst I've ever written. It's still terribly sweet though, so I guess there's a tiny bit of fluff present somewhere. Anyway, enjoy! XD  
**

**And make sure you review if you want any actual Christmas related ones. Or even any more angsty ones, since I surprisingly enjoyed writing this. Let me know which you prefer in a review :P**

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**Opposites Attract**

Ryou Shirogane was seated at his desk in his rather simple room, which consisted of a bed, a desk and a medium sized window, through which light was streaming in. Some would call it bland, but he liked it this way. Only the necessities. Nothing frivolous, nothing he didn't need. This attitude of his was not only present in his bedroom, but in every aspect of life.

When he bought clothes, he only bought new things when he needed them. He didn't believe in spending your money on unnecessary things. It wasn't just when money was involved, either. His attitude towards relationships was similar. He only believed in getting close to the people he needed. He hadn't needed anyone. Not since his parents had been killed by the Chimera Anima, anyway. The only person he still depended on was Keiichiro, and that was because he'd known him all his life. He was always there, even before his parents had died.

This very attitude of his was why he hid his feelings for Ichigo Momomiya, one of his employees. I guess you could say that it was because he didn't want to get hurt. When his parents had died, leaving him at such a young age, it broke his heart. But he'd put the pieces back together again, slowly and painfully, but there was always that big empty hole, present ever since his parents became _not_ present.

But when Ichigo Momomiya came into his life years later, that hole had begun to mend, to the point where it was almost completely healed over, and he was happy that his parents didn't have to hurt again. But he refused to admit that he had feelings for the clumsy redhead who had come crashing, literally, into his plain, bland life and injected it with colour. Her colour. Her hazel eyes, her pink clothing, her red hair, which matched with her red cheeks that appeared whenever he was near. Her sweet scent, her amusing temper, her cheerful attitude, juxtaposing with his anything _but_ cheerful one.

Yes, he was most definitely in love with Ichigo Momomiya, but wouldn't even admit it to himself, let alone to her, or anyone else for that matter. Would he ever learn to love again? But if he wouldn't then why did Ichigo feel like such a necessity? He didn't want her, he felt like he needed her. Felt like his soul had been waiting to find someone exactly like her... No. He wouldn't have feelings for that naive catgirl.

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**Yes, the typical review begging. Please and thankyou, and the more reviews I get the quicker I'm motivated to update! XD**


	7. Mistletoe Isn't Always Needed

**Okay so here I am with another update, even though I've only got like 2 reviews on my last chapter. I'm ashamed of you people, I'm only updating so quickly, because Christmas is tomorrow, and I need to post all my Christmassy drabbles before the spirit is gone. **

**So, here it is, my first Christmassy drabble, although it doesn't involve Christmas very much. I should stop saying Christmas. The next one is a lot more Christmassy, and I'll post it tomorrow if I can, if not, then the day after. Christmas will be over then, but still, I don't see a reason why it can't go on a few days extra :P Also, the oneshot that continues on from Chapter 4 - Second Command (Where Ryou takes Ichigo to the Christmas Ball, will be up soon, I just haven't had time to write. So it'll be posted extremely late (before New Years Day though!), but oh well. Make sure you check it out!**

**Enjoy, and review! XD**

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**Mistletoe Isn't Always Needed**

A snowy Christmas Eve equals instant happiness, right? Not for a certain blonde boss, who went by the name of Ryou Shirogane. He frowned to himself, not understanding the appeal that cold, wet, icy stuff had for most people. He was a cat after all, so it would be logical that he disliked the cold and the wet weather, but he didn't get why Ichigo liked it at all. Her cat genes were stronger than his...

The blonde stood at the window, gazing outside with an expression that was a cross between annoyance and amusement. Most people would have found the thick white layer of icing and the snowflakes, each one a unique pattern, to be rather exciting. For Ichigo, the fact that it was snowing made her day. But for her sarcastic boss, it was the opposite. It ruined his day. He sighed and proceeded outside, where his employees were laughing and playing in the snow. They were all wrapped up warm and enjoying every second they had, before the icing that coated the ground would disappear.

"Okay guys, you've had your fun. Time to come back inside, there's a lot of work to be d-"

Ryou Shirogane was pelted with a snowball, that hit him hard on the side of his face, turning his cheek into what felt like a glacier in the arctic. Instantly, rage washed over him, as suddenly as the snowball had hit. He had been surprised to say the least, and he was determined to find out who hit him and make them pay. He suppressed his anger for a seond and turned, to see a guilty looking Ichigo, her cheeks stained crimson. A sheepish grin was plastered onto her face, as she apologised.

"S-s-sorry?" The apology sounded more like a question, as she wondered just how angry the usually calm blonde would be.

"Oh you'll be sorry alright, Baka Strawberry!" Ryou replied to her through gritted teeth, before sprinting after her.

Ichigo ran. As fast as her legs would carry her, as she was terrified as to what Shirogane would do to her if he caught her. She simply ran, and ran, in no direction at all, just wanting to get away as fast as possible.

"Be careful Baka, you might fall ov-"

The redhead suddenly felt her legs give way, as she fell back and slipped and slid on the cold, hard ice below her.

Ryou had caught upto her by then, and knelt beside her, with an amused expression on his face. "Told you not to run, you'd only get hurt. Plus, I'd catch upto you anyway, so that was pretty pointless."

The redhead was at a loss for words. Her cheeks flushed the familiar shade of crimson, as she fumed inside. There was no use arguing with him, he was a total jerk. So when Ryou got up and offered her a hand to help her up, she was surprised.

But nevertheless, she took it, not realising that the second she was almost back onto her feet, he let go, causing her to fall back. But Ichigo was scared for dear life, and clung onto Ryou as hard as she possibly could, causing him to fall back down with her, and for a brief instant, their lips met. A spark of some sort shot through them both, as the world around them disappeared. For a moment it was only Ryou and Ichigo, Ichigo and Ryou. Neither of them was sure whether to pull away, or deepen the kiss, for the passion between them was fiery and obvious, though it had been an accident. They were saved then, by Mint, who cleared her throat and was standing above them, and instantly they both sprang apart, as if they had been burned.

"If you two lovebirds are quite finished with your public display of affection, I'd like to go back inside and enjoy a nice cup of tea." The highly amused bluenette smirked, hoping her blonde boss and her clumsy colleague had finally realised what the rest of them had known forever. That they belonged together, regardless of how much they argued.

Both Ichigo and Ryou turned away, trying their hardest to hide their embarrassment, both of them thrown off by the strange spark that shot though their bodies the moment their lips met. What could it mean? As Ichigo stammered and blushed twenty five different shades of red, Ryou put on his usual calm, nonchalant expression and stood up.

Mint helped Ichigo up, all the while wondering what was going on between the two people in front of her. She then walked into the cafe, with a smug expression on her face, and sat down at the table to drink her tea. Ichigo followed, feeling a little light headed.

She felt Ryou's soft breath on her ear. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that, Baka Strawberry." He walked past her, his signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Ughhh, Shirogane you're such a jerk!" She replied, fuming, and all signs of their previous kiss disappeared, as they bickered all the way into the cafe kitchen.

_If only she knew what that brief moment meant to me. If only she knew how long I'd wanted to do that. If only she knew how much I wanted to deepen that kiss, to hold onto her forever..._ The blonde thought to himself, as the fuming redhead next to him threatened him.

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**What did you think then? :) Review, if you want the other two Christmassy drabbles up! XD**


	8. Blonde Moment

_Yes it's been ages, no I didn't die. Very nearly though, from all the stress and exhaustion. But despite all that, I wrote this chapter for you guys! XD_

_I'm not sure when the next update shall be, but if you review, who knows._

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Blonde Moment

'_For a moment there, Ichigo had thought of the blonde in a romantic way...What was happening to her?'_

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"What on earth are you doing?!"

Ichigo almost jumped out of her skin in surprise. She turned her head, to see Shirogane standing at the door, looking bewildered. Rather than replying, she just stood there, looking at him, face scarlet, and mouth opening and closing, much like that of a goldfish.

Ryou waved his hand in front of his face to get her attention. "Hello? Anyone home?"

Ichigo panicked. "Erm...er-erm I was just..."

"Just what, Strawberry?"

"I think I lost an earring..." she trailed off near the end, unable to finish her sentence.

"You lost an earring?" he asked her, voice full of sarcasm and disbelief. "In my underwear drawer?!"

Ichigo sighed, and yet again blushed her infamous shade of deep scarlet.

"Might as well tell you, Mint dared me to steal a pair of your underwear."

"And why in this universe and beyond would you accept? Did she offer to pay you $2000 dollars or something, because that's the only explanation I can think of."

"Er...not quite. She blackmailed me."

"With what exactly?"

"I c-can't tell you."

"And why not Strawberry?"

"Because it's embarrassing."

"Fess up. Now."

"Well...I kinda wrote you this letter. That I was going to send, but never did since I found out it wasn't needed since Mint lied about what she did."

"What was in it?"

"That I definitely can't tell you. Can't we just forget this ever happened?"

"Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The letter."

"You'll never find it."

Ryou grabbed Ichigo by the wrists and attempted to unzip her bag. She squealed and managed to get out of his grip. He caught her off-guard while she was trying to find an escape route and grabbed her and tightly hugged her to his body.

_Whaaa?_ - _What is he doing?_

He tilted his head forward, so that it was extremely close to Ichigo's. Their lips were just millimetres apart, and Ichigo honestly thought that her jerk of a boss, Ryou Shirogane was going to kiss her right there and then. She looked up at him, eyes wide in surprise, as he moved closer, and closer.

_Wow, his eyes...I could drown in them. And he smells so nice... and his body feels so great against mine. Is it true that he likes me? Oh my god, is he going to kiss me?!_

At that moment, Ryou suddenly jerked away and grabbed her bag clean out of her hands.

"What happened to your cat reflexes, Baka?"

Ichigo was still lost in thought. For a moment there, Ichigo had thought of the blonde in a romantic way... What was happening to her?

Ryou reached inside her bag and found the letter. He held it up to read.

_Shirogane, Mint left my bra on top of your bed the other day. Her idea of revenge since I made her take my shift last week. I don't know how to say this in person, so I'm writing this note asking you to give it back please. Thankyou, Ichigo._

The letter was on pink stationary, with strawberries in the bottom left hand corner. It was typically Ichigo, and Ryou couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I found the bra." He held up a baby pink bra with strawberries embroidered all over it. He cocked an eyebrow and smirked his usual smirk.

"I thought Mint lied?!" Ichigo inquired, her entire face the colour of the strawberries on the garment Shirogane was holding up.

"She did, but Pudding put this here yesterday. Told me you wanted me to have it."

"Oh." The red cheeks reappeared, Shirogane turned and swiftly walked out the door, smiling to himself.

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_Review review review if you want anymore updates for a while. I'm putting off all my work to write, so don't hate, appreciate! XD_

Much love, FM xoxo


	9. Dishes, soap, blood and heroes

_Hi guys! I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update, but trust me when I say, I was incredibly busy. Anyway, here it is for those of you that are still interested, and leave reviews even when I take stupid lengths of time in between updates. I really appreciate you taking the time to read AND to review (which by the way a lot of you don't. Yeah, I'm talking about you, lurkers.) One person in particular that I remember always reviews is Smurf2005. I'm sure there are other but I can't remember right now, but thankyou if you do. One more drabble (already been written, just needs editing) left till ten, and after that I may or may not continue depending on reviews and..stuff XD_

_Oh and thankyou Chika (XxXChiharu-Chan-1000-SpringsXx) for taking the time to read it and give me the thumbs up, despite not enjoying fluff. I'm just surprised it didn't keeel you XD_

_Anyway, I'll zip it now, enjoy!_

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**Drabble 9 – Dishes, soap, blood and heroes**

Ryou sighed. His gaze was steadied at a petite girl with a mop of strawberry colour hair and matching eyes, which glimmered with frustration. She was currently at the sink, managing to break more plates than she cleaned. She had soap everywhere, including the floor, the surfaces around the sink, and even on her hair. And goodness knows how she got it all over the door, which Ryou was steering clear of.

"Ughhh! Why does this have to happen right now?" she moaned, as she dropped yet another plate, which fell to the floor and shattered into a million, tiny, shimmering pieces, that glinted as they caught the light.

She sighed. "I'd better get all this cleaned up, before Ryou sees it. He'll kill me, resurrect me, then dock my pay _and_ make me work extra hours. Stupid Baka." She muttered to herself, a little too loudly.

Ryou watched this scene with an expression of amusement on his face. He chuckled, causing Ichigo to jump, and drop yet another plate. It was a wonder there were any left in the cafe at this point. She turned towards him, cheeks tinted scarlet.

"Uh..uh, it was kind of an accident. I didn't mean to break so many plates. Please don't dock my pay, I'm broke right now.."

Did Ichigo just apologise to Ryou? The blonde said nothing, just stood there, hands on his hips, the ever-present smirk on his lips, and stared at Ichigo. She was returning a similar stare, except her expression comparable to that of a rabbit caught in headlights.

Ichigo suddenly winced. This caused Ryou to move his gaze down to her right hand, which she was squeezing with her left, as blood dripped onto her apron.

"Stupid Baka, you cut yourself on that plate. Can't you do anything right?"

"I'm aware of that you jerk, that might explain why my hand's bleeding. And it's your fault, too. Always making me do the dishes when Pudding's off. Why not Mint? Knock her off her high horse once in a while. Or even Lettuce-"

"Shut up Baka, you wanna get yourself cleaned up and not bleed to death, or would you rather stand here lecturing me that it's my fault every time you do something stupid and get yourself hurt? Which by the way, is very often."

"It _is _your fault, jerk. And it's not like I can clean myself up, my right hand is pretty much useless at the minute!"

Ryou sighed. "Ok Baka, come on. I'll be nice and get you bandaged up, although since I'm such a jerk, maybe I shouldn't." He said with a look of satisfaction playing across his face.

Ichigo had no comeback, as she was clutching her hand in agony. Despite it being such a minor cut, she being the drama queen she was, made it seem like a casualty case.

Ryou grabbed her arm and led her to the cabinet where the first aid box was kept. He then expertly sprayedthe cut with disinfectant, causing Ichigo to wince in pain, and then covered it in a clean bandage. During this process, Pudding walked past the door, peering in as she did so.

"Ooh Shirogane Nii-san and Ichigo onee-chan are in love! It is just like the movies, where the heroine gets hurt and the hero saves here, na-no-da!"

Ichigo remained silent, purely because she was physically unable to scold the little girl, and Ryou just rolled his eyes, too tired to set the blonde haired girl straight. As Ryou opened his mouth to speak, Pudding popped her head round the door again.

"So Ichigo onee-chan and Shirogane Nii-san don't deny it na-no-da?" She giggled, with a quick wink, before running off.

Ichigo blushed and said nothing, while Ryou sighed and muttered to himself.

"This is why we never let Ichigo Momommiya do the dishes. I forgot that she didn't just need to be kept far away from sharp objects, just most objects in general. And wait...I thought Pudding was off work today?..."

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_What do you think? Next drabble might be the last, so review please! XD_


	10. What Could Have Been

Last drabble..unless I get plenty of reviews. So I took a break from revising to edit and type this thing up so appreciate it :P I'd rant some more but I'm so tired..but yeah, read, review, the usual.

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Drabble 10 – What Could Have Been

Watching the girl you love with another man hurts a lot. Ryou Shirogane knew this best of all. He watched the clumsy redhead he'd been in love with ever since they met. And as he did, he felt a slight pang of jealousy at the fact she was in Masaya Aoyama's arms, not his. Her expression seemed so dreamy, she seemed so happy, content. He wondered if they'd ever be. Ryou and Ichigo...Ichigo and Ryou. It sounded so good in his head, but he knew inside that it would never happen. Despite knowing this with a sad certainty, he still remained hopeful.

And the least he could do was be there for her. Yes, he'd always be there for this girl, the only one who'd ever made him feel this strong, overwhelming emotion. This emotion was called love, and Ryou hadn't experienced it since his parents died. But this was a different kind of love, a completely new feeling. A feeling that meant he would put himself in danger to protect her, let no harm come to her, be there to comfort her if she ever need it. He'd teach Masaya a lesson if he ever played with her fragile, easily breakable heart. Ryou Shirogane had never experienced such a strong emotion, and it was almost as if ever since he'd met this girl, all the sadness ever present in his heart after his parent died all those years ago, had vanished, or at least lessened.

He was no longer depressed, nearly suicidal, and being around this girl made him feel optimistic, happy, able to see what was good in life, with a glass half full attitude. She was constantly on his mind, and she had absolutely no idea of the effect she had on him. He doubted that these feelings were ever even acknowledged by her, let alone returned. He watched the two of them, the happy golden couple, holding hands across the table they were sat at. They were perfect together, he knew that. He stood at the door, bitterly watching this girl from a distance, imagining what could have been if he ever managed to express his feelings to her.

This girl, this one girl who was constantly messing with his mind, was Ichigo Momomiya, clumsy, petite, annoying, and Ryou Shirogane was unwillingly, uncontrollably, and irrevocably in love with her.


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